No Time To Bleed

We all hit the ground at the same time, chills jolting through our veins. Jessica clutched onto Jesse's arm and I was sure to keep Ryant close to my side.

“There's a car over there.” Ryant whispered.

All four of us were to afraid to utter any words past that volume. It was a four wheel of a tan marble blue and green color mixture. The underside of it was rusted and Jesse checked it for anything. There was nothing under. The doors were unlocked and I checked the inside for anything useful

I smiled. “I found a bat!”

“SHHH!” they all did unanimously.

“Let me see it. “ Jesse grinned and I handed it to him. “I'll be able to use this. Baseball season just started.”

That was right. Jesse was like MVP of the school's baseball team. I wasn't sure how anything other than his swing on that team could help him now.Defeating zombies wasn't all about strength, it was mainly about strategy and common sense.

“Let's move.”

The parking lot was a stretch and we started walking the length of it.

Every other car left in their was either blood splattered, abandoned with nothing useful, or locked. No one felt like taking the risks of smashing in any glass and most certainly not setting off any car alarms.

“You know it was pretty dumb for us to even try and visit Amanda, even stupider to go after this little kid.”

No one chose to acknowledge Jessica.

“And plus, if Amanda was bitten, what makes you think Ryant's little brother is alive?”

I turned to her sneeringly. “Have you considered that fact that smaller kids might have an increased chance of survival? Little kids endure, bad things happen and they block it out, they try to look at the good in life, and they make it. People like you shit on that.”

She almost seemed taken aback. “It was just an opinion.”

I turned away from her and continued my gait. “Maybe you haven't noticed by now, but you're opinion is nothing supportive. We don't even need you.”

“Oh really? Who was it that saved you 20 minutes ago?”

“It was the bullet and you're ignorance. Amanda didn't have to die.” I said.

“You might just be screwed in the brain cause it was obvious she was a zombie.”

I gave up then. If Jessica wanted to argue, she could talk until her teeth fell out. Plus, if the choice came down to it, I could let her die. Who gave a crap about her anyway.

Ryant seemed preoccupied by something.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

He kept up his pace next to me. “I think I heard something back there.”

I looked back and saw the stretch of black parking lot behind us was empty. “There's nothing there....”

But my words drifted off for just that reason.

Why would the zombies be gone?

“We need to move now!” I shouted, shoving Ryant ahead of me.

“Why?!” Jesse shouted.

I tangled my fingers around Ryant's fingers and tried to heave him with me. No one was moving.

“Because this is too creepy! Why would there be none of them here?! We need to move faster just in case!”

They all looked to me confused.

Just then, a glass shattered off in the distance. From a car's backseat came a rasping gray arm.
There was one in a backseat, but that was... impossible. We'd checked.

The head caved out next and the body hit the ground with a sickening crack at the neck. It regained balance, although one arm was torn at it's hinge and useless. It turned a few times and blood dripped from it's broken jaw.

“Oh my God. That's Mr. Danklef!” Jessica shouted.

A piercing scream left the creature's lips as his head bobbed back. The figure then went sailing towards us and as if out of the woodwork, an army of zombies came racing from behind. We ran. Feet pounding against the cement. My hands free from Ryant to pump at my sides. Tears streaming down my face as their ghostly cackles came closer and closer.

We went stumbling down a hill and Jessica took a hard fall. Her leg cracked as she reached the road at the bottom of the hill. Ryant flinched for a moment and I grabbed his arm to pull ahead. The zombies were already speeding down the hill.

“Go ahead! I'll help her!” Jesse shouted.

I turned my head, freezing in place. “Come on, Jesse! We don't need her! We don't!”

My voice was choked in a shrill of tears. The zombies were trampling each other to reach them.

“I'm not a killer! We are NOT leaving her!”

He latched her arm around his neck and pulled her up, throwing the bat to Ryant in the same motion. We took off again, the zombies even closer. We took a sharp blast down Wilbur street and houses towered around us.

I slammed into the front door. “IT'S LOCKED! IT'S LOCKED!”

Glass shattered as Jesse heaved his bat into the front window. He raggidly bashed away the loose pieces.

“Jessica, get in!” He lifted her body up the window and she pulled herself over.

He forced me to get in next and I helped him up. Ryant stood outside the window, pain etched into his face.

My hands tore into the shards of glass still in the window frame. “Ryant! Get in! Get in!”

I was sobbing, screaming by now. “GET IN!”

They were racing, clambering for us, right at the top of the street.

He shook his head.

“I need to find my brother. I need to find him. I promised him we'd always stay together. I can't let him die!” What?, I thought. “I'm sorry. I have to save him.”

He turned and ran, knowing the school was at least a mile.

“Ryant! Ryant!” I screamed, hands digging into the glass and my leg halfway out the window to chase after him.

But it was Jesse pulling me back. It was him stopping me from going out to save him. Ryant had just taken his ticket of death and I all I could do was thrash, scream curse words, and be dragged upstairs.

I knew this war would end my world.